Under the skin this is really a Volkswagen ID.3. However, CUPRA, which is the sporting arm of SEAT, has the knack of taking a ‘standard’ car and bringing it to life.
First of all, the CUPRA Born looks better than the ID.3 because it has a more aggressive appearance and fatter tyres. The ride height has been lowered slightly and the steering made sharper. We think it looks cool.
There are two power options, (a third lower powered version is in the pipeline apparently) both of which feed a single motor which drives the rear wheels. You can select either a 202bhp 58kWh battery or a 240bhp 77kWh battery which gives the CUPRA Born terrific performance and decent range. CUPRA reckon you’ll get 340 miles before running out of juice with the bigger battery. If you can find one of the increasing number of rapid chargers, you’ll hit an 80 per cent charge in around half an hour. You can also manage a 0-60mph time of around 6.6 seconds.
You can tell that the suspension has been lowered because the ride can feel a tad firm at slower speeds, but get moving on the quicker stuff and the pay-off is that the CUPRA Born handles really well. It’s not quite in hot hatch territory but it’s not far off.
Trim names can often be a bit confusing with various manufacturers, but CUPRA has gone to the other extreme with the Born. You have three versions to choose from….V1, V2 and, erm, oh yes, V3. The cheapest Born kicks off at £36,475. (August ’23) Fancy the more powerful one?…add £5500.
Every Born comes with a handsome 12-inch touch screen and a 5.3-inch instrument cluster. The sat nav is responsive but the even though the temperature can be adjusted by external buttons, doing anything else is a bit fiddly, which is not ideal when you’re on the move. There’s also a rear view camera.
The seats are supportive but comfy and there’s plenty of room for adults in the rear. There’s a sense of quality about the interior trims too.
The difference between the two power outputs might appear to be significant at first glance, but in truth it doesn’t make much difference in day to day motoring and even though the predicted range of the lower power model drops to 262 miles, that will still be ample for the majority of you reading this. I’d save your money and avoid the temptation of the more powerful Born.
This is the first all-electric CUPRA. It’s a thoroughly enjoyable and competent car and certainly bodes well for future electric cars from the Spanish manufacturer.
Find more info:
CUPRA official
